One after the other, piece by piece, connected to lead to one direction. An inch too high might spell disaster, an inch too low might mean uncertainty. It prides itself on being level, without a kink in its amour. A railway is built usually to move in one direction, rarely taking any turns. But when a train has to change direction, it does so by means of a railroad switch; a mechanical installation that enables trains to switch from one railway track to another.
We have been forced into a time of meditation. Most of us, if not all of us are now confined to their houses for better part of the day. Some are working from home, some have kids to take care of but still, we have more time than we had before. It’s inevitable that we find ourselves wandering into deep thought when we have time to be alone.
That train of thought might lead us to think about what we took for granted when we had freedom to plan out our days and move around as we pleased. Or the weakness our healthcare system has or economic system has in supporting its people. You might end up thinking about your spiritual life, your profession, your family there are a million and one possibilities of what might go through our minds.
While we may not all think of the same things, we can all agree the more time we spend meditating on scripture, a book, a topic the clearer we understand it and can easily come up with independent ideas. This is the railroad switch moment, where our train of thought moves from one rail track to the next; from worry to innovation and from blind sheep to the leaders of the flock.
In 2017 I moved from my country of birth to another continent for a period of one year. All of my life I thought I was an independent thinker only to realise I had been a slave to what my friends, family and society thought.
How did I realise I was a zombie you might ask? Well after moving I had to readjust to new friends, a new society and usually a new way of thinking. Slowly I realised that things I did before with friends or with acquaintances were not necessarily beneficial or things I liked, I just did them to fit in.
While in Kenya, my home country, I would rarely stay home. I always wanted to be the life of the party, hanging out with friends. After readjusting to my new life in Israel, I realised I enjoyed reading books, I could stay home watch a movie, take a walk and clear up my thoughts, travel to see new places not as a means to make someone else happy but as an independent decision. Most importantly I learned how to say no and the beauty of being your own man.
My example is on a small scale, but there was a man who did it on a larger scale; he changed the direction of a nation. You wouldn’t have expected it because his father, even grandfather were on a totally different path. He had to have had mental courage to make the decisions he made, one of them deposing his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen, because of the wrongs she had done. This man was king Asa of Judah.
This path started with his great grandfather King Solomon, who started to worship other god’s and even built shrines for these gods. His son Rehoboam carried on with these practices and ultimately his son Abijah continued with his father’s sins. Asa, however, had a railroad switch moment by expelling male shrine prostitutes and got rid of all idols in Judah. What motivated this shift?
Well you don’t have to move to another continent, or a pandemic occur for you to change how you think or what time you dedicate to meditation and developing your ability to make decisions on your own. In King Asa, we see the possibility of changing the direction of a whole nation by being mentally strong to think up a new path.
I know sometimes we get moral fatigue, especially when the tide is against us. We should remember that there is no voice too weak or word too feeble, that can’t change a family, a society, an organisation or country.
Taking time to think about what the next move should be, or what is beneficial should not be an excuse to be selfish. It is rather a great opportunity to think about how our actions affect others and ourselves. After deep thought, some actions will be for the benefit of the collective, and some will be for the benefit of the individual. The balance is struck when we think about what Paul said, “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.”
After this scourge is over we will definitely reconsider a lot of things in our lives and society. We will question our healthcare system, hopefully, we will be stronger spiritually and we will reconsider how we spend our time. Don’t waste an opportunity to think long and hard about your life, actions and the principles that drive your train of thought. God willing if you survive this pandemic, I hope it will be your railroad switch moment!
Public Announcement
If you have the ability to help a neighbour whose income has been compromised at the moment please do. Stay home, be a hero.
May God comfort each and every one of you. Shalom.
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